Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday said he did not join politics to know the prices of “aloo and tamatar,” but decided to become a politician for the sake of the country’s youth.

The premier said this while addressing a rally in Hafizabad.

The premier said 25 years ago, he decided to join politics for the sake of the country’s youth, adding that he had no personal gains from doing so as he already had everything in life that a person could dream of.

“I didn’t join politics to know the prices of potatoes and tomatoes. I joined it for the sake of the country’s youth”, the premier said.

“If we want to become a great nation, we will have to support the truth, and this is what I have been preaching for the last 25 years.”

Imran promised the people of Punjab that his government will work on the development of the province, something which he claimed would be “unprecedented” in the country’s history. “This country will break records in terms of development in the next one-and-a-half years,” he claimed, says a news report.

The premier then talked about transforming Pakistan into an exemplary welfare society, based on the model of the State of Madina.

“I formed Rehmatul-lil-Alameen Authority in the country so that every Pakistani child becomes aware of the life and teaching of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and stay on the path of the truth.” He further claimed that all the previous leaders of the country had no idea why was Pakistan created in the first place.

“If the purpose of creating Pakistan is not known [to these politicians] then we cannot become a nation. Unless the nation stands against evil, it will continue to rise. If they do not stand against oppression then oppression will increase,” he said. Taking a dig at the opposition and how leaders of different parties criticised him for issuing statements against the European Union envoys, the premier said in the past, prime ministers of Pakistan used to “shiver with fear” whenever they met a US president and used Bilawal’s slip of the tongue “kaanpein taang rahi hoti thein” as an example.

“My criticism of EU was justified,” the premier said, adding that opposition leaders, including Fazlur Rehman, Shahbaz Sharif, and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari thought it was “grave injustice” to chide the EU envoys. Taking a swipe at Shahbaz, the prime minister said whenever a foreign diplomat came to meet him, he would quickly change into a suit and a tie.

“Since I know the West better than everyone else, I can assure that they do not respect people who polish their boots,” he said. “They respect nations who stand up for themselves.”

PM Imran Khan also spoke about the US war on terror and the ensuing drone attacks in Pakistan, calling it a “violation of human rights.”

He also talked about the “terrorist” living in London for the last 30 years, saying that this terrorist was responsible for the killing of more people than those killed by US drones. Imran said he was unfazed by the opposition’s attempts to de-seat him through the no-trust move, saying the nation will witness that the “three rats who have united to dislodge the government will eventually get preyed upon” themselves.

The premier said people will see that those trying to dislodge him from the top office would get buried under the weight of their own conspiracy.

He recalled that some 20 EU ambassadors had questioned him in the past on his stance of opposing drone attacks. “I asked them whether they will allow Pakistan to launch a drone attack at a Pakistan-based terrorist sitting in London for 30 years who has been involved in several killings in Karachi, the capital of Sindh,” he said.

Imran said he would not appease anyone or opt for a foreign policy that resulted in the country’s interest being compromised.

He called out JUI-F chief FazlurRehman, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and PPP Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari for maintaining silence on US drone strikes in Pakistan between 2008 and 2018, saying those leaders never spoke for the rights of Pakistan.

He said his government would maintain relations with everyone “but will not make any compromise on national interests”.

Imran insisted that Pakistan was going to become a great country in the remainder of his term, adding that the incentives announced by his government would yield results in time to come.

PM Imran reiterated that he had rightly criticised the European Union for writing to Pakistan and asking the government to condemn Russia.

“The west only respects you when they see you are sincere towards your country,” he said.

He said he was respected in all countries he has visited so far as the prime minister. “I do not have any wealth stashed abroad nor I am involved in any corruption,” he claimed, adding: “I only entered the politics to serve my people.”

The prime minister said the crimes will only keep on rising if the nation stayed silent on wrongdoings in a society and allowed corruption, sex crimes and violence to become a norm.

Imran said it was the responsibility of the state and judiciary to stop the corrupt and convicted politicians who were trying to topple the state through horse-trading.